title: One-year results of transcatheter aortic valve implantation as an alternative treatment for severe aortic stenosis in high-risk patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aortic valve replacement (AVR) remains the gold standard treatment for symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS). For the past 10 years, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been applied in patients with high surgical mortality and morbidity risks. The preliminary results of our TAVI patients are presented in this study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten high-risk patients with severe AS, for AVR, were referred and accepted for TAVI in the 6 month period from May 2010 to October 2010. The patient age, logistic EuroSCORE, femoral arterial diameter, aorta annulus size, aorta valve area (AVA), mean aortic pressure gradient (MPG), as well as coronary angiography results were all collected. Six patients were treated via the transapical approach in March 2010, whereas the other four were treated with the transfemoral approach, according to their femoral artery diameter and arterial quality. This study focuses on the immediate, 1 month, 3 month, and 1 year results of TAVI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average age of the 10 patients receiving TAVI was 81.5 years. The mean calculated EuroSCORE was 28.3 ± 7.9%. The mean AVA was 0.61 ± 0.19 cm(2). The MPG was 48 ± 16 mmHg. The surgical technical success achieved 100%. There was no reported moderate to severe postoperative paravalvular aortic regurgitation, permanent complete atrioventricular block, major access site complication, or embolic stroke. Chronic renal failure, which necessitated permanent hemodialysis, developed in 10% of the patients. One acute myocardial infarction and one case of pneumonia developed postoperatively. The AVA was increased by 251%, whereas the MPG was decreased by 80% at the 3 month follow-up. The 30-day mortality rate was 10%. The all-cause 1-year mortality rate was 20%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This new technique and device requires greater caution and needs more practice to accumulate sufficient experience. The studied patients were very fragile, due to old age and multiple comorbidities. Our results are similar to findings of multicenter trials. With careful patient screening and selection, TAVI can be a promising treatment for high-risk severe AS patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yu-Ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Ying-Hwa
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Po-Lin
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Han-Chin
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: I-Ming
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zen-Chung
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: Chun-Che
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Hsiao-Huang
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D004452:Echocardiography; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: TAVI; aortic stenosis; aortic valve replacement; transcatheter aortic valve implantation